Port of Oakland to establish drayage traffic management plan

The port and City of Oakland say they anticipate issuing the so-called “West Oakland Truck Management Plan,” which aims to address truck traffic problems in the area, by the fall of 2018.    Officials with the city and Port of Oakland say they plan to meet with residents of the area near the port in the coming months in the process of developing a drayage truck management plan to address concerns about big-rig traffic on streets in West Oakland.
   The port and city anticipate issuing a West Oakland Truck Management Plan by the fall of 2018 that will address trucking problems in the area, with the goal of steering heavy truck traffic away from West Oakland residences bordering the port.
   The port and surrounding area see about 3,000 trucks transporting containers in Oakland each day, according to port Environmental Programs and Planning Director Richard Sinkoff.
   Most of that traffic sticks to port roads or nearby freeways, he said, but truckers in search of fuel, food or repairs, sometimes detour through nearby West Oakland.
   In 2005, the city designated truck routes around the area in 2005, but not every driver stays on track, according to City of Oakland Planning and Building Department Patricia McGowan.  The new plan is expected to specify where trucks can drive and park, plus strengthen enforcement of truck restrictions.
   “This will be a plan that relies on community input to address truck circulation and parking,” McGowan explained.  “We want trucks to be less disruptive by controlling where they drive and park.”
   Among the concerns that West Oakland residents and business owners have expressed to the port and city regarding the diesel-powered semis hauling cargo containers near their homes and businesses are safety, a lack of truck route signs; diesel exhaust; and big rigs being parked overnight in residential neighborhoods.
   The city and port said they’re already taking steps to steer freight-haulers away from residential neighborhoods, with one currently in the planning stages being truck service centers at the port and an adjacent city development, so that drivers won’t have to venture into West Oakland for fuel, food and other services.
   Overnight truck parking spaces are being added, too, according to the port.